MO Supreme Court to make final ruling on Reggie Clemons case

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ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI) - There are new developments in the case of Reggie Clemons, one of the men convicted in the infamous murders of the Kerry sisters.

A judge says he believes the confession of the death row inmate in the case was coerced. But that wasn't the only conclusion.

The Missouri Supreme Court granted a special hearing in the case. That was held at the Carnahan courthouse downtown last September.

Judge Michael Manners from Jackson County oversaw the hearing and has now submitted his findings to the high court.

Clemons, now 41, is one of four men convicted of in the rape and murder of Robin and Julie Kerry back in 1991 on the old Chain of Rocks Bridge. The girls were 19 and 20 years old at the time.

Manners says in his findings that Clemons' lawyers did not establish 'a gateway claim of actual innocence.' Manners also writes that prosecutors improperly suppressed evidence in the case and that he believes Clemons was coerced into a confession that he later recanted.

Clemons has long proclaimed his innocence in the case and has said that police beat a confession out of him. He repeated his claims of innocence in September but also took the Fifth Amendment more than 30 times when prosecutors pressed him on issues.

The Missouri Supreme Court will now make a final ruling on Clemons case. That can be anything from doing nothing, to granting Clemons a new trial, to commuting Clemons' death sentence.

A spokesperson for the Missouri Supreme Court says the attorneys in the case now have 30 days to basically file objections to the findings, then the case would be put on the docket for full oral arguments before the high court. There is no docket date at this time.